MaeBea
by Silverstream5683
Summary: It's been a month since their encounter with the murder-cult. Mae has begun to come to terms with herself, but as time passes she watches her best friend, Bea, slowly fall to pieces. She want's to help her, but she's still trying to fix herself. Can she find a way to help or will worse come to pass?
1. Chapter 1

**Ch 1 The Real Issue**

 **All thanks go to Fuzzinator23 for the fixes to the story.**

 _A headache it always starts with a headache._

Her new therapist was better than Dr. Hank could wish to be, which wasn't particularly hard seeing as he did too much as it was. Regardless, Mae was finally starting to figure herself out. She was still a long way from fine, but she knew she had her friends and her family.

As the car pulled up to her family home, her mother drove her to the therapy appointments, she hopped out. "Thanks, Mom," she says giving her mother a warm smile.

"It's no problem dear," she responded as sweet as ever her eyes bright with kindness and hope, "I'm just glad you're feeling better."

"Yeah I know, this new shrink is really something isn't he?" Mae smirked.

"Don't call him a shrink Mae, that's very rude," her mother gave a small laugh as she turned the car off and got out as well, "though you are right. So, are you staying home today?"

"Nah I want to go see if any of my friends want to hang out,"

"Ok, well be home for dinner ok,"

"I'll try," and with that, she was off. The December air was crisp and very cold, causing Mae's breath to fog out in front of her. She was finally wearing something different for a change and old winter coat her grandad wore it had faded leather and a soft, inner lining. It had snowed almost nonstop for about a week prior and so the snow was deep on either side of the road. Only the sidewalk was easy to walk on seeing as everyone stamped the snow down enough so that you wouldn't be trudging through waist-high powder just to get anywhere. Well for Mae it was waist high...well probably Gregg too, they were both short.

Mae was climbing the hill to get to Town Center, Selmers wasn't out on her front steps that day "too cold to sit outside anymore," she had told Mae after the Longest Night festival. Even the grumpy old man who was always yelling at her to get off his damn porch was inside. Possum Springs was a quiet place in the winter. The construction was done, for now, the kids didn't bother to come out even though snow is freaking awesome. It was just...dead. Mae stopped herself, 'No, don't think that' she thought to herself. She distanced herself from thinking about the shapes, but in the stillness of night or when she wasn't paying attention she caught herself slip a little, but she was in control now. She pushed on and climbed the hill. Town Center stretched before her at the top and she took a deep breath. Out of shape still, that hill was a bastard to climb. She took off into town passing the P.S. board and the tunnel entrance and making straight for The Ol' Pickaxe to see Bea. They had really rekindled their dead friendship since Mae returned. Bea knew why she left college and Mae knew how much she wanted to have the chance to go, but when Mae slid to a stop in front of the hardware store, she was surprised to find it closed.

She pressed her face against the glass and sure enough, there was no one in there. The lights were off and everything, it was weird to see it like this. Bea never skipped out on an entire day of work and Mae knew she would have opened the store by now, it was almost noon. A time of the day Mae hardly ever was awake for honestly. Maybe Angus knew what was going on. Video Outpost Too was only a couple of blocks over so it didn't take Mae long to make it there. She pushed open the door and felt the warm air rush out as she stepped inside. "Hey Mae," the bear growled.

"Hey big guy, what's up?"

"Not much, the usual," he was good at reading people's faces, so he could see that she was there for something "what's up, is something wrong?"

"I dunno, I went to see what Bea was up to, but the store wasn't open."

"Oh, huh, she didn't message me or anything. She might still be at home, I hope she's ok."

"Well, I'm gonna find out then, thanks, Angus."

"No problem Mae, shoot me a message if you find anything out, I'm kinda worried now."

"Will do, hey, tell Gregg I said hi." She waved her friend goodbye and left. It wasn't a long walk back to Bea's home, but it was still weird that she wasn't at work. Whatever was going on, Mae was going to get to the bottom of this.

All apartments in or around town center were the same, as in they all sucked ass. They were small and the little buttons you had to press to call someone were almost never working. Mae knew this to be true as she pressed the button with the label Santello for the twentieth time. "God damn this effing button." she slammed her fist into it and it cracked, but it also made the calling noise "Finally!"

"Who is this?" Mr. Santello answered.

"Mae...Borowski."

"Oh, well Bea isn't feeling well, come back another time."

"Wait! I just wanna see if she's ok, it's not like her to skip on opening the store ya know."

A pause and then, "Fine come on up." The elevator dinged and sped down to pick her up. She stepped in and hit the right button and up she went.

The apartment Bea lived in was smaller than Mae's room and the crawl space combined. It was almost smaller than Gregg and Angus' apartment. Mr. Santello answered the door and let Mae in. It was sweltering in there that she had to peel herself out of her coat as she made her way back to Bea's room. When she stepped in it was dark, a black curtain blocked out all the light and Mae almost tripped over a lone box on the ground. She could hardly make out her friend curled up on the bed.

"Bea?"

She stirred and rolled over her eyes half lidded "Mae?"

"Wow, you look horrible," Mae stood at her bedside and put a hand on her forehead, she was burning up "Whats wrong?"

"I don't know really, just woke up with a migraine, and then my stomach started killing me."

"why didn't you go to the hospital?"

"Honestly? I don't trust my dad to drive the car." she let out a small cough

"He doesn't sound particularly worried that you're sick," she gets a shrug in response "You know my mom took the day off she could probably get you to the hospital."

Bea coughs again and then responds, "I dunno Mae I don't think it's th.." She puts her hand to her mouth before trying to stand up and almost tripping. She shoves Mae out of the way and barrels out the door and into the bathroom. Mae shudders at the horrible retching she hears.

She steps out of the room and looks down the hallway to see if her dad was at least going to come and check on his daughter. He was not. She felt a bit angry at him for just ignoring Bea like that, but he didn't seem right in the head so she just pushed it out of her mind. She had bigger fish to fry. Poking her head in the bathroom, she saw the croc slumped over the toilet bowl, panting with sweat rolling down her face, "yep, calling my mom, you're going to the hospital...uh, where's the phone at?"

Bea wipes her mouth and struggles to stand up, but Mae rushes forward and supports her friend. "Thanks...uh yeah, I guess seeing a doctor isn't such a bad idea. Phones in the kitchen, just sit me down on the side of the tub, I don't wanna be too far from this room at the moment." So there she was sat and to the kitchen, Mae went.

She stepped into the living room to find Bea's dad had fallen asleep on the couch, "What the eff man!" He just slouches around while his daughter takes all the work over and then doesn't even give a damn when she's hurling her guts out. Her anger was growing, but again she pushed it out of her mind again, she needed to get Bea some help and now. The phone was beside the fridge on the wall and soon enough Mae had her mother rushing over to pick her and Bea up. Getting Bea into the car proved to be a task for the cat since Bea was taller and a bit heavier than she was and also had no balance to speak of at the moment. A quick elevator ride later and Mae was glad to see her mother in the lobby, and even happier when she took over the job of getting Bea out the door and into the car.

"Mae, did you tell my dad where we were going?" Bea asked her voice really hoarse.

"Left him a note. I taped it to the T.V., he shouldn't miss it." Mae waited till her mother had closed the passenger side door before waving her to the back of the car, "Mom, I'm really worried about her."

Candy Borowski was many things and all of them included consoling her daughter, "Honey, she's just sick. It's probably a flu bug."

"You don't understand, it seems like more than that," she says "she seems so stressed out too."

"I'd bet so, she runs that store in town, and missing a day of business would put any shop owner on a boat to stress-ville."

"You do know she doesn't own it right?"

"Huh?"

Mae groans "whatever, we need to get her to the hospital." Her mother agrees, but also says they should talk more about it later, and then they jump in the car.

Possum Springs was too small to have much more than a family physician so in order to get to a proper ER, they had to take a little trip down the highway to the next town over the same town Mae's therapist was. Once there it was easy enough to get in and sign in and, although it was crowded, Mae was able to *convince* the patients sitting closest to the bathrooms that she needed their spots more than they did. Needless to say, a few old people weren't too happy with her, but she could care less. Friends before the sick and decrepit!

"You guys didn't have to do this, but thank you anyway." Bea gave a weak smile that disappeared with a hacking cough.

"Bea, I would blow up an orphanage to help you if I needed to," Mae was fifty percent joking about that too.

"Mae don't do that,"

"Jeez, I was only joking...mostly."

"Bea, dear, it's my pleasure to help anyone who needs it," Candy replied as sweetly as ever "and Mae, that's not a very appropriate thing to say in a hospital."

"Eff manners in hospitals," Mae punched her fists in the air, "but seriously, I would do anything to help you, Bea."

The smile returned to Bea's face "it's nice to hear you say that. I think I'm going to close my eyes and nap until they call me. Wake me up when they do."

To call sitting in an ER boring is like saying that drowning is breathtaking. It just goes with the territory, and sit there and wait they did. Four hours passed until they called Bea back, into a small curtained off section they went. Mae sat on the floor so her mother could take the only seat and Bea lied down and almost immediately fell asleep.

Mae saw the stress etched on her friends face, it was like reading a book you knew all the words to. The stress was a bad punchline to the life that was Beatrice Santello's, and it killed Mae to have not been there for her friend when it all started, but as the story goes she left and Bea remained. Stuck, lost in a life she no longer had a say in. Seeing her father like he was today burned like a raging fire in Mae's mind. She wanted to yell at him, she wanted to yell at Bea for putting up with it, but she tried that before and all it did was put up another barrier she had to tear down again to rekindle her relationship with her long lost friend. Since then she was always visiting the crocodile, always pitching in at the store. Mae was really turning her life around and now she saw Bea at her lowest at her most vulnerable. Honestly, what she saw in Bea was a reflection of how she felt about herself ever since the *incident* in middle school. Ever since she bashed Andy Cullen's head in with a baseball bat, she was the Killer of Possum Springs or so everyone called her. The anxiety and stress she saw on Bea's face were a stark reminder of how horrible her own life had been after that. She had to help her friend it was the only thing she could do at this point. She stood up and gently grabbed Bea's hand and sighed, "Bea, I'm always gonna be there for you, OK?" her voice was hardly a whisper. She didn't trust herself not to start crying and let Bea's hand go and plopped back down on the ground, facing away from her mother and folded her arms biting her lip so as not to make a noise. That was her promise to Bea and also herself, because maybe she could finally be a better person, and maybe she could find a way to do the same with Bea.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch2 BFF Through Thick and Thin

 **Wow, this was an emotional rollercoaster for me. Thanks to Fuzzinator23 for the proofreading much-obliged man. Anyway, have fun reading and leave a review, Sincerely Silverstream. Chaio**

 _Dreams are weird, and important things always happen after weird dreams._

The room is dark when she wakes up, her head is still swimming, but at least her stomach wasn't at war with her. Bea raises her head and looks around, an empty room except the constant beeping of the monitor beside her. That's right, she was in the hospital. After she was seen by a nurse, they moved her to an overnight room to give her antibiotics and let her rest. She had a pretty bad flu bug, but they were hopeful she'd feel better by the morning. She hears murmuring and she notices light coming from under the door. She can faintly make out the voices, one is Mae. She can't tell what they're saying, but she's still too tired to care much. At least she had a friend like her. She closes her eyes and drifts back off into the weird dreams that woke her in the first place: dreams about...her mother.

 **...**

"She's going to be fine," the doctor reassured Mae who was still concerned that there was something else wrong with her friend.

"But, like, she's been stressed out lately," she says "I see her every day and she's just so, tired."

"Stress can do weird things to the body," the doctor sighs, "I don't know what I can tell you, just be patient, things like this work themselves out over time. Your friend should be fine in the morning, the antibiotics have wiped out most of the flu. Get some rest."

Mae grumbles but decides to let it go for now and opens the door to the room and walks back in. Her mother had left to go home a few hours ago so that she could pick up her dad from work and so he wouldn't worry where they were. Mae decided to stay with Bea at the hospital so she could keep her company and keep an eye on her. She sits down in a big comfy chair she had pulled to the side of the bed and looks at her friend. Bea was fast asleep, but she looked better, not as bad as she did earlier. Mae could still see the stress splayed across her friend's face. She sighs and closes her eyes, she might as well get some sleep. She was going to see what she could do to help Bea tomorrow.

Mae awakes to her mother shaking her shoulder. "Mae, wake up dear." She's so sweet and kind.

"Wha? Huh?" Mae stretches and looks around. Bea is sitting up and eating a bowl of porridge, she looks better at least and is eating. "Oh, good morning."

Bea looks over and gives a small smile, "I didn't want to wake you up, you seemed really tired." She sounds better too.

"Nah, you could've woke me up," She smiles back, "you look better today."

"Yeah the doctor is gonna come in and do a little check up, but if he says so then I can go."

Mae's mother chimes in, "Once he releases you I can take you home Bea,"

"Thank you, Mrs. Borowski, yeah that'd be nice."

Mae stands up "I'm freaking starving where can I get tacos in this place?"

"They have a cafeteria on floor three honey," Candy Borowski says, "Here I have ten dollars, take it and get something to eat, we will be here waiting when you get back."

"Sweet, thanks, mom." Food time was a good time for Mae as she made her way to the elevator. Floor three was fairly empty since it was still pretty early in the morning, but that was ok. Sadly they did not have tacos, but they did have some decent burgers. Ten dollars of food later and Mae was headed back to Bea's room. She arrived just in time for the doctor to be leaving and Bea was up and dressed in clean clothes that Candy had brought her. "Wow, that was fast."

"Yeah my stomach isn't about to die and the doc said I was good to go home," Bea stretches "but I need to rest still and drink plenty of water, but that's usual I guess."

"Hey, if you need help I'm right there Bea,"

"Thanks, Mae, let's get out of here"

The car trip was uneventful, but it began to snow once the reached Possum Springs. It was heavy too almost a blizzard. "Jeez, you think God is trying to bury this town in snow?" Mae remarked. The last time they had this much snow was in the blizzard that hit the town a few years back.

"Well the weather man said this winter was going to be a harsh one," Her mother informed.

"Can we make it up the hill to my house in this?" Bea was looking around, very amazed by all the snow.

"Well it just started, but we can try, it shouldn't coat the road too bad," The Borowski car wasn't built for this much snow and even though it had just started, the car almost slid back down the hill. Luckily, they made it through and Mae helped Bea out of the car and they rushed into the apartment building.

"Wow, haha, that is some heavy snow," Bea looks at Mae whose entire head is white.

Mae shakes the snow off though some had melted leaving her face soaked "Jeez. Well, you made it home." She pauses for a second and then looks at her friend "Bea?"

"What?" Bea looks at her friend and sees a worried look in her eye "I'm fine Mae, it was just a bad flu bug."

"No, it's not that...I just want to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For leaving you...ya know...to go to college and even before then."

"Mae, you've told me that so many times now it's going to start getting annoying."

"Yeah I know, I just really want you to know that. It's not just a phase thing I'm not gonna just flip out and leave again."

"I know, I really do. You're a really good person Mae and I'm happy we're friends."

Mae smiles at hearing that, "When are you gonna open the Pickaxe up again?"

"God...I kinda forgot about it. I can't keep it closed so I'll be over there tomorrow."

"I'll be there when you open it. I want to help if I can."

Bea chuckles "wow, you think you can get up that early?"

"Hey, I got up at like 10 today..." Mae squints her eyes at Bea.

"Yeah I know I'm joking Maeday." Bea looks at the ground and then opens her arms.

Mae looks at her confused "What?"

"Give me a hug, idiot."

"Ohhhhhhhh." Mae hugs her friend "Going soft I see."

Bea chuckles, "Yeah, maybe, anyway I'll see you tomorrow." She lets go and presses the button for the elevator.

Mae watches until the doors close and then she looks outside. The snow had calmed down into a soft, but still heavy, snowfall. She pushes her way into it and to home, the rest of the day is stuck in the house. This is why she doesn't wake up early most days. Her mother had to go back to work after getting back from the hospital. Since the car made it halfway up the hill she just kept going once she dropped Bea and Mae off. Now Mae was stuck surfing the web and playing Demon Tower. She hardly noticed the time pass until her mother was calling her down for dinner and she realized she was starving.

 **...**

Bea pulls a key out of her pocket and slides it into the lock unlocking the front door. Stepping inside the smell of alcohol greets her. "What the...?" her father is slumped on the couch a bottle tipped on the ground at his feet. He looks up when he hears the door open and sees her standing there.

"Where the hell were you then?" He growls standing up.

"I went to the hospital, I was sick." she looks at the T.V. where Mae said she had left a note and she saw torn paper hanging on it "there was a note on the T.V"

He looks at the T.V too and then is confused for a second "what?"

"A note, dad, on the T.V. it was taped there."

He plops back down on the couch "God you scared me, Bea," he says wiping his face, "I thought I lost you for a second. God, I'm so cold right now."

The air was chilly and when Bea looked at the thermostat she saw it'd been turned down. She turned the dial up again and then walked over to her father and put her hand on his back "I'm sorry dad, I needed to go to the doctor."

He looked up at her and a mixture of sadness and anger was there "the doctor? Bea, we can't afford that. How did you pay for it?"

"Well I signed up for health care a while back and something like the flu isn't gonna break the bank."

"Oh...ok," he looked down at the floor and saw the bottle lying there "Bea I'm sorry, I really am, I'm a horrible father."

"No, you're drunk and sad, there's a difference." she sighs, "you need to go lie down, come on get up." Her father rises off the couch and lets her lead him to his room. He lies down on his bed and she pulls the covers up over him and he goes quiet. As she walking out the door her father grumbles out her mother's name and then curls up into a ball.

Bea sighs and then walks back into the living room. Even though the day had barely begun she was still drained. Her body was still fighting off the rest of the flu. The living room reeked of beer, though, most likely from that spilled bottle. She went for that first and picked it up and setting it on the kitchen counter. She digs through the cupboards until she finds some rug cleaner and goes and spreads it on the spill. The time passes as she goes around tidying up the apartment. It's been a few hours when she gets the last thing cleaned and now she's really tired. She falls onto the couch and closes her eyes and rests.

Her waking dreams are filled with things she can't explain, it makes her head hurt and she can't get away from it. She wakes up suddenly, hyperventilating, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest. She gets up and goes into her room and fishes out a pack of cigarettes, shaking it she finds only three left. She fishes one out and picks her lighter up off her bed and lights it up.

She started smoking when she turned eighteen. She never did it to look cool or anything, it just made her feel better. It calmed her nerves a little and eased her mind, but after a while she found one to not be enough anymore. She went through almost a pack a day sometimes, but it was losing its effects on her. She sat on her bed and smoked, then she buried her face into her hands and cried. She didn't know why she was crying or what it was about, it just came out of her. If she was being honest it was about her mother, she missed her so much sometimes she couldn't function, but when she sees her dad she feels terrified she'll end up like him. Lost and broken to the point he can't even run his own store properly, he doesn't remember to do payroll or pay the utilities for the store, he barely even remembers the rent every month for the apartment. He's a train wreck and she has to deal with it. She was glued to Possum Springs by her mother's death and her own inability to do anything about her father. So yes, she cried as these emotions flooded her. She felt utterly alone at the moment, but she needed to be strong. She wiped her eyes dry and finished her cigarette: she needed to sleep. Looking at the clock it read 4:00 P.M. She laid down and pulled her blankets over herself and closed her eyes, tomorrow was another day, another chance...right?


	3. Chapter 3

Ch3 A Helping Hand

 **Welcome to Ch3 of MaeBea I am glad to see you here today. I hope you enjoy the fic please R and R as usual and have a wonderful life. Also, all thanks to Fuzzinator23 for the fixes thanks a bunch. Chaio**

 _Work keeps the mind active, and an active mind will always strive to work._

The keys jingled in her hand as she slid them into the lock on the front door. Bea was exhausted still, she had bags under her eyes, but work had to be done. She checked her email and voicemail on the home phone and saw she had several back orders for work around the town. Several people had busted water pipes that she needed to send workers out to fix, others had requests for the snow to be plowed, and Mrs. Miranda was complaining about her furnace again. It was a nightmare, honestly. Missing two days of work set Bea back by a week or so. Still, she was happy to have something to take her mind off the world for a while at least. She throws the keys into a drawer behind the counter and goes in the back to flip the store lights on. The fluorescent bulbs hum to life and she stands there, staring at all the shelves of hardware and she feels a rush of dizziness. She puts a hand on one of the shelves to balance herself before shaking her head and heading back out front. She had already called everyone and told them to come in, they grumbled about her being out for two days, but they were headed in. Now, she has to wait. It was kind of stupid only having one person run this entire operation, even more, stupid that the one person was her, but after her father disconnected from the world she had to figure it out fast. Her friends had their lives to worry about, and she had to make sure that her father was taken care of. Her, alone in all this for two years. She took a deep breath and rustled out her cigarettes: two left.

 **...**

Mae's dusty alarm clock went haywire as it hit 9:00 A.M and she peeled her eyes open. It was like trying to pull yourself out of a vat of glue. She was tired, but that was only because she wasn't used to waking up this early on a regular basis. Regardless she sat up and slid her feet to the floor. Shoes must find shoes. She squinted around the room and spotted them in a pile next to her guitar. 'Why were they over there?' Once her shoes were snuggly on her feet and she changed her shirt, once in a blue moon this action happens, she was more awake. She stepped in front of the mirror and looked at herself. She didn't look as worn today, in fact, she looked rested, the therapy was helping, a lot. Life wasn't ending for her anymore, and she saw a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, hope. She takes a deep breath and heads out of her room nabbing her grandpa's coat along the way.

She found her mother sitting at the kitchen table reading a book, as usual, when she wandered in. "Hey, Mom," She hopped up on the counter.

"Mae, hon, you're up rather early," Her mother looked up from her book, "are you feeling well?"

"I'm absolutely fine, Mom," she says "where's dad? I thought you drove him to work at ten."

"Oh, well he decided to take the car today, I can walk to the church, the snow isn't too deep today, considering the snowfall yesterday," she smiled "What are you going to do today?"

"I'm gonna head up to help Bea with work today."

"Oh? Does that mean you have a job?"

"No, I'm just being a good friend."

"Well, good friends also have jobs, Mae."

"Yeah yeah, I know mom."

"Well, don't let me keep you, just stay safe out there hon."

Mae hops off the counter and nods, "I'm never careful and you know it." She heads off leaving her mother chuckling in the kitchen. It was like the town had a bucket of white paint dropped on it. The roads were cleared at least, but the houses and yards in her neighborhood were covered in a couple feet of snow. It was magical really, the snow gave off a shine that this town needed. At least they still had power, though. Lots of snow meant the power lines might snap, but so far so good. Mae took off up the hill and into town, she was determined not to be late.

She slides to a stop in front of the store and is happy to see the lights on and the open sign blinking, she soon yanks the door open and heads inside. Bea is leaning on the counter, rolling a cigarette between her fingers as if she's deciding whether or not to light it up. She looks up to see Mae stroll in and smiles. Mae can see how tired she is, it worries her a bit, and smiles back, "Heeeyyyy, Bea." she says.

"Well look who made it," Bea chuckles, "I wouldn't have held it against you if you didn't show up, though."

"Hey I try to keep my word," Mae says and hops up on the counter and sits there, "So, what's on the list today?"

Bea snorts, "what isn't on the list," she says, "I've got a crew of guys coming in so I can send them off to fix pipes, another couple of guys are gonna spend the entire day shoveling snow, and guess where we get to go."

Mae thinks for a second and only one place comes to mind "Clanky..."

Bea nods "Damn thing won't stay fixed," she says bitterly "she probably leaves it on high all day and the pipes keep getting too hot and then the valves bust open." She stares at the cigarette and rolls it around her hand.

"Maybe we should just blow her house up," Mae says.

Bea laughs "Yeah that seems like a good idea," she looks at Mae who has a serious look in her eye "Mae, no, we're not going to blow up a clients house...though it would solve that problem."

Mae throws up her arms "Fine, but this time I wanna help fix it, ok? Just, like, show me how the parts work together."

"Ok, I can do that at least." She ends up accidently tearing the filter of the cigarette off "Damn it." She opens a drawer and pulls out a roll of scotch tape.

"Bea, you really shouldn't smoke, also what are you doing."

Bea tears off a piece of tape "improvising." She tapes the filter back to the cigarette "Mae when I die is when I'll stop."

"Like I didn't wanna say anything, but Bea, I'm allergic to the smoke."

Bea looks at her "I didn't know that " she looks at the patched up cigarette and then sighs, throwing it in the trash "I won't smoke around you then."

Mae sighs, internally, that was better than nothing. At least now she won't be holding her breath around her friend anymore. Time passed quietly until the door rang and a few guys walked in all wearing heavy coats. These were the workers Bea mentioned. They looked like old miners, even after all the years since the mine closed you could still see the signs of hard work on their faces and hands. Bea began to fill them in on all the work planned for the day. Once they knew what they were doing they headed into the back of the store for the tools and material they needed and were off. Looking at the clock it read 10:45.

Bea pulled her coat on and walked into the back real quick and came back with a small box of tools "Ok, lets head out." she says. Mae hops off the counter and they're off. It's a pretty long drive out to Mrs. Miranda's cabin at least, and it helps that Bea's car is a beast at getting through the snow. They stopped right before the big windmill in the yard and hopped out.

"Damn, this snow is deeeeep," Mae says as she tried to push through it.

"Just follow me, Mae," Bea says. She was taller and she pushed through the snow easily.

"You're like a living snow plow," Mae remarked as she followed behind her.

Bea chuckled as they approached the front door. She knocked on it, no answer, she knocks again "Mrs. Miranda are you there?" she yells through the door. She tries the door knob and it twists and the door swings open. They slowly step inside "Mrs. Miranda were here to fix your furnace a...gain..." They stop as they come into the living room.

"Holy crap!" Mae says as they see Mrs. Miranda on the couch, dead. She's not moving or making noise anyway. Mae decides she's going to be the one to walk up and check since Bea is sorta frozen in place. She leans forward to see if the old woman is breathing and hears nothing "She's actually dead..." Mae looks at Bea.

"I...did not expect that." She says "I, uh, I think she has a phone in the kitchen I'm going to call 911." She walks off into the kitchen to find the phone. She finds it on the counter and picks it up thankful to hear a dial tone. A few minutes later, the police are on the way and so she comes back into the living room. "Let's go wait outside, I don't really want to be in here," she says. Mae agrees and they step out onto the porch and close the door. They both sit down on the stairs wait.

"Well this day got weird," Mae says "Like, jeez, who finds a dead body every day?"

"Kinda like that time we found that arm outside the Clik Clack,"

"Or trapped the cult in the mine."

Bea went quiet for a few moments after hearing that before replying "that night gave me nightmares,"

"Wow, really? I was able to sleep fine after that..." Mae stops that train of thought real quick "sorry, I didn't mean to sound insensitive."

"No, it's ok. You were going through some weird stuff, half of which I still can't believe, so I guess that stopped whatever was happening to you," Bea sighs "for me, it's kinda scary to think about, though. Like they're most likely dead, but they attacked us so it's not like we did anything wrong, but then again it was only one guy who attacked us."

"Bea we didn't know that the mine was gonna cave in. The elevator broke, fell, and caused it. It's not like we blew up the place."

"True, but still it just stresses me out." She goes quiet again and they sit there in silence.

Mae knows that what happened that night changed all their lives, maybe even the life of the town too, but honestly, she didn't care for the town. Only her friends and family were on her mind now. She didn't really have to help Gregg or Angus...damn it, she forgot to send Angus a message saying Bea was ok, her mind wandered and she brought it back on track, Gregg and Angus had each other, but Bea...she was alone in this. Mae finds herself staring at her friend again, she did that more often now. When she came back to her hometown she didn't know who she would find. She just ran to a familiar place, but out of all the people she expected to see, Bea wasn't one of them. She thought that Bea would be long gone, off to college like she was, off being smart and having a life, not stuck in this town looking after a father who didn't care half the time and the other half constantly held her down like glue. She was stuck in this life, and it wore on her, that much Mae knew, but she didn't know how to fix it. It wasn't her job to fix it, but she still had to try. She didn't realize how much she missed her friend until she saw her again. It was like a dream that you didn't want to wake up from, but you woke up and then you try so hard to have it again except it doesn't come, not until you almost forgot about it and have it again. It was a nice feeling, a confusing one, though.

They both hear a car coming down the road and look out to see a police car park beside Bea's. Mae's aunt steps out and begins to make her way over to them. "I had a feeling I'd be seeing you today, Mae." she says "So, she's in there, right?"

"Yeah, we found her there," Bea says.

"Hi Aunt Mall Cop," Mae retorts.

"I told you not to call me that Mae," her aunt frowns at her, they never did get along, she clears her throat "Anyway, the ambulance is on its way to get the body, I just need a statement from you two and then you can leave. No need to stay here around something like this."

The two friends each gave their story and Molly let them go, so they left. Back in the car, they head off back to town. The ambulance passed them as they turned onto the main road that headed into town. They made it back to the shop to find a truck sitting outside of it with one of the workers in it. Once Bea unlocked the door and they were all inside the worker said he got the pipes he was working on fixed, but the others were having trouble digging up the other one. Bea headed off into the back with him to get something that could break through the hard-packed ground, leaving Mae in the front alone. Mae wandered around the small store looking at all the tools and materials lining the walls and hanging off shelves. Today was a total bust, but she'd hang out until closing just to keep Bea company.

The guy came back carrying a couple of pickaxes and left. Bea was back behind the counter and she leaned against it laying her head down. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Mae just walked back over and hopped up sitting down on the counter beside her. It took her a moment to realize Bea had actually fallen asleep. How can you sleep standing up? Well, she was leaning against the counter, so, Mae just lets her sleep. It was quiet and barely any cars passed by the store as well as a few people who braved the cold to walk somewhere. It wasn't until 12:30 that Bea opened her eyes and stood up straight looking around. She seemed startled and she blinked her eyes several times. "Good morning," Mae said, "Or, well, afternoon actually."

"Mae you should've woke me up," Bea said popping her neck "god my neck is stiff."

"Sorry, I just didn't want to bother you," she says "you looked really tired."

"yeah I haven't been sleeping well," she looked at the time and then looked at the phone under the register. No voice mail's and no one walked in or they would've woken her up.

"You can talk to me about it," Mae said, "whatever it is."

"Just life, Mae," she said, but it wasn't just life, it was her life, she felt a growing darkness as if it was going to swallow her whole sometimes. On bad days it was hard enough to get up let alone do things, but she did because she was not going to end up like her father. She looked at Mae and saw that same worried look again. It peered into her soul almost as if Mae already knew everything that was wrong, but no she wouldn't ask if she did. Bea was independent she knew how to handle her problems, but she still felt it eat away at her. She shook her head, "I'm...fine Mae thanks for worrying, though."

"That's my job as a certified best friend," she says smiling. She could tell Bea was lying, but pushing the issue would cause strife between them so she didn't. "I am bored as hell, though."

"Well, you could always go sort all the nails and screws in the back. They always end up in the wrong boxes."

Mae frowned, "ugh that's not exciting."

"It would be helpful, though."

Mae groaned, "fiiiiiiinnnnne," she hops off the back of the counter, "at least like show me the different nails and crap."

Bea was all too obliged to do so, it saved her from doing it. Some idiot had decided to stick the nails in giant plastic containers, but the containers were always falling off the shelf leading to someone, Bea, having to sort them all. She tried to keep them separate, but no matter what it always happened at least once every other month, and she had been sorting through this last one for a few weeks. It's what Germ was doing one day when Mae came in, but he accidently knocked the shelf and it toppled, so he gave up. There were four buckets with two different types of nails and two different types of screws, and it was up to Mae to sort them. She was good at spotting patterns, so sorting out the nails turned out to be fun in the most unlikely way. Bea helped except to go out and deal with customers, but for the most part, they were both back there for the remainder of the day.

"That was the fastest I've ever gotten that job done, Mae." Bea said, "that was impressive."

"I want to strangle whoever does this,"

"It's probably my dad's idea, he comes down to the store every once and a while, but he never does anything but go out on a few jobs, and well you know this already..." she sighs

"I'm sorry about your dad, Bea."

"Don't be, it's not your fault he's like this. He just broke...I just want to help him, you know?"

"Yeah, I know you do, but I hate to see you stressed out like this."

"Don't worry about it, Maeday," she says "Anyway, I've got to close shop, the guys should be back in a bit to drop off the tools and stuff, so you can go home. Are you coming by tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I can help out if you need."

"That's nice of you. Thanks for helping out today."

"Yeah, at least there were two of us there to see what we saw today, right?" she says and Bea agrees, "Ok then, goodnight Bea." She throws her coat on and heads out of the store and home. She had actually worked a full day, she hadn't done that before. Once home she found her parents setting the table, they were happy to see her and she tells them how her day went. Molly already called and told her sister about what happened so that part of the story didn't need much of an explanation. All in all, they're happy she's happy at least. They eat dinner and hang out for the night before she heads off to her room.

 **...**

The sun had set when Bea finally stepped into the apartment, she was so tired she could hardly keep walking. She found her father in his usual place on the couch watching T.V. When he saw her he turned the volume down. "So," he said, "how was the store?"

She sighs "fine, dad, like always. Got a lot done today too," she walks over and plops down on the couch laying her head back.

"You should go sleep. No need to be this tired after a day's work."

"I'm fine I just want to sit here and watch T.V. with you for a bit." Her father doesn't respond and just turns up the volume again. The game is on and she listens to it absent-mindedly for a while before closing her eyes and falling asleep. She doesn't realize it when she comes to, but she's laying in bed, she looks up to see her father walking out of her room, but she doesn't say anything. He must've ushered her to bed when she was barely awake. She knew he loved her even when he didn't show it, but she still felt angry with him for just tuning out for the past two years. She just decides to sleep, she could hardly stay awake as it is. So she closed her eyes again and drifted off into dreams of her mother and father. They were happy this time at least, but with an ever-present feeling that nothing was right. That darkness that ate away at her was swallowing her whole and she didn't see a way to escape it...yet.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch4 The Straw that Broke the Crocodiles Back

 **Welcome to Ch4 everyone. This one is gonna hit hard in some places so be warned. Also thanks for sticking with me this far and as always R and R pretty please. All thanks to Fuzzinator23 for grammar fixes thanks again. Chaio.**

 _Loneliness doesn't mean being alone it means feeling alone._

The day had barely begun, the store was open, the workers off doing their assignments, and Mae had shown up on time for the second day in a row. All in all Bea was pleased with how fast they were catching up on the back orders, but still, she could barely keep her eyes open past noon. She kept waking up in the middle of the night from freakish nightmares. Even Mae was starting to notice her eyes glazed over and bags underneath. She dodged every question thrown at her though, there was work to be done. That day she had Mae help her stock the store and take inventory. Mae was slow with the stocking, but when it came to numbers and counting she was actually faster than Bea at it. It was a smooth day with hardly any customers again and the workers came back early from their jobs. Even the weather was kind to everyone since the sun had finally shown its face again. A smooth day indeed.

It was about the closing time when Gregg burst through the door screaming "Heeeeeyyyyy everyone. Holy crap, Mae, are you working?" He laughed as he saw Mae putting tools and other stuff on the shelves.

"Yeah, I'm helping Bea," she says "Whats up man?"

"Hey, Gregg," Bea says

"Band practice that's what," he exclaims waving his arms "Angus and I have been working on a cool song, you'll love it!"

"Whoa, a new song," Mae says "great, I won't be the only one sucking at it!" She waves her arms with Gregg.

"Cool Mae and I'll be there in an hour or so, we have got to close the store and I need to grab my laptop."

Gregg smiles "woohoo yeah I'll go round up Angus, we're gonna rock!" With that the orange fox dashes out the door.

"Well I guess we can start closing up," Bea says as she opens the register and pulls the cash out and walking into the back. Mae picks up all the stuff she didn't put on the shelf and carries it to the back as well. Once the cash is in the money safe and the extra tools and stuff is back on the shelf the two friends put on their coats and leave. "You can head over to the Party Barn if you want I'll be there in a bit," Bea says as she pulls the keys out of the lock.

"Yeah, I guess I'll catch up with Gregg. See you there." Mae runs off to find Gregg and Angus.

Bea chuckles and begins the short trek home to pick up her stuff. The day was cold, but the sun made the snow sparkles and it gave the town an even more beautiful shine. She stepped into the apartment building and pushed the elevator button. Once off and to the door she unlocked it and walked in hanging her coat on the hook beside it. Her father was sitting in his usual spot on the couch watching T.V, though he never seemed to be paying attention to it unless the game was on. He looked off in his own little world and only responded to the door closing. He turned and looked at her. "So, how's the store?"

Bea stopped herself from groaning. That same question was what she was asked every single day she walked through the front door, and the answer was always the same "It's doing fine, Dad, just like yesterday." She grits her teeth so as not to say anything else, it was grating, though.

"Don't give me that tone," he says "it's..."

"Your store and your name is on the deed and your money pays the bills. I know." She didn't mean to sound as snarky as she did, but her father took it hard.

He narrowed his eyes at her "don't talk to me that way, Beatrice," he said in a low and harsh voice "I did not raise you to act like that."

Bea couldn't stop her response as she rolled her eyes "Yeah like you're the picture of how someone should treat others." She closed her mouth and bit her tongue, her eyes immediately found her father's and she saw the dangerous look in them.

He didn't break his gaze with her as he stood up and slowly approached "I have no idea who told you that you could talk to your father with such a disrespectful tone," he says as he stops in front of her and glares into her eyes "but, I am not a man to be trifled with."

Something inside of her bent a bit and she spoke up again "you...you aren't someone who can get by without someone there looking after you," she said her voice barely a whisper "someone...like mom..." She saw stars for a moment and hit the floor hard. Her father had hit her, he had never hit her before, she was scared now

"Don't you dare insult me like that!" her father shouted, "I will not accept that!" He looked down at her and his eyes were lit with rage and fury. She didn't move and just laid there not knowing what to do. She didn't notice her father walk back to the couch and sit down again until she heard the TV volume turn up and she stood up slowly. Her head was pounding and she was still seeing double, but she needed to leave, now. Quietly, she walked, or more like stumbled, into her room and grabbed her laptop and then made her way for the door. Her father was quiet as he sat there and she walked past without incident. Grabbing her coat she walked out the door and shut it, quietly.

 **...**

Mae was standing in the party barn, chatting up with Gregg while Angus was doing some voice warm-ups on stage, and Germ was...well...being Germ off to the side. She saw Bea walk in and instantly knew something was up. Gregg looked too and smiled "Bea!" he said, but even he could tell that something wasn't right. "Uh, Bea?"

Bea sets her laptop down on the stage and sits down, she was still shaken and her head was throbbing, but she felt safe here at least. "Hey, guys," she said.

"Yo, dude, like what's wrong? You look like you fell."

Bea didn't realize she had bruised that quickly and she chuckled. "Yeah...uh, I slipped and fell outside before I came in." she lied. She didn't know what stopped her from telling them the truth, but she stuck with that story.

"Saved your computer but wrecked your face dude," Gregg said, "well, hope you feel up to playing."

Bea nods "Yeah, I'll just run some basic drums if that's ok. I'll try to splice something together tonight when I have the song recorded."

Gregg beams and nods "hell yeah man," he hops up on stage and runs over to Angus.

Mae takes the time to talk to Bea "you look like you took a pretty hard fall, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm alright, Mae, think you can play this song?"

Mae laughs "no!"

Everyone is in their places, Bea has her laptop set up and ready to record the song and play the drums, Mae is standing there tuning her bass, Gregg is doing rock star poses, and Angus is clearing his throat. Germ? He is just standing there and watching. The song is great, but their performance is like a train derailed into a landslide that was falling into a volcano that was blowing up. In short words, it sucked, but once it was over Gregg let out a whooping shout and praised everyone for trying. Then their time-honored tradition of getting dinner was celebrated afterward, Germ, sadly, had to go home.

"TACOS! TACOS! TACOS!," Gregg and Mae chanted in unison as they sat at their table in the coolest place to ever come to Possum Springs: Taco Buck. Bea was sitting across the table from Mae and was quiet. Angus walked back with a tray full of tacos, setting it down in front of the chanting buffoons. Gregg and Mae instantly start trying to toss tacos into each other mouths while Angus and Bea ate in silence.

Angus glances over at Bea who is toying with her taco and he clears his throat. "Hey, Bea," he says. Gregg begins shouting at Mae for tossing a taco into his eye, they aren't paying attention to anything.

Bea looks over at Angus. "Huh, what?"

"You look pretty stressed, is something wrong?"

"Just tired, long day." She takes a bite out of her taco.

"Yeah, I understand that feeling," he says "Mae never told me, what was wrong the other day?"

"I had the flu pretty bad," she says "Mae made me go to the doctor."

"Wow, are you alright?"

"Yeah, the stuff they gave me was pretty good."

"I'm glad you're ok then," he smiles.

She smiles back and then jumps in her seat when Mae slams her fist on the table.

"Gregg my mouth is here," she yells pointing at her mouth. Her face is covered with lettuce and cheese.

"Sorry dude I was aiming for it, but I guess I suck at this," Gregg laughs and it's infectious causing the small group of friends to join in.

They finish their meals and leave the staff to clean up Gregg and Mae's mess. Outside the clouds have joined together again and the snow was falling lightly. They decide to just take a walk through town enjoying each others presence. They stop at the center of town and watch as the day turns to night and the street lamps come on. The orange glow of the lights makes the snow glow casting light orange light across the buildings making the entire town look like a sunset. It was peaceful and quiet since everyone was inside in their cozy warm homes. Time passed and the friends decided to head their separate ways. Mae walks beside Bea as they make their way back towards their houses.

"Hey, Bea," Mae says. "Even though that song was a train wreck, you did pretty good on the...drums...it's still a computer."

Bea chuckles. "Thanks, Mae, you did well too, considering." They stop in front of Bea's apartment building. "Well," Bea says, "Guess this is it, good night?"

"Why does that sound like a question?" Mae asked confused.

"It's not...goodnight Mae," she walks into the building, leaving Mae on the sidewalk confused.

The cat shrugs and walks home stepping into the warm house and sighing. "I'm hooOOoMme!" she shouts.

"Welcome home kitten," her father says. Mae joins her father on the couch sitting down to watch T.V.

 **...**

Bea stands in front of the door leading into the apartment. She doesn't really want to go in, but she has no other choice so she unlocks the door and opens it quietly. Stepping inside she finds the lights off and the apartment quiet. She quietly she makes her way to her room and sets her laptop back on her desk and takes her boots and coat off. She sits down on her bed and pulls out her pack of cigarettes. She's been saving the last one since she promised Mae she wouldn't smoke in front of her anymore. She pulls it out and lights it up letting the nicotine into her body. It has no effect and she groans and buries her face in her hands. She sits there thinking on everything that happened today. It was insane, she didn't know what to do. She was hiding her emotions behind a thin veil of nihilism but it was crumbling. She wanted to cry, but it wasn't coming.

She stood up not wanting to be in the apartment anymore. She looked around at all the boxes in her room and felt angry and scared all of a sudden. This small room was suffocating her and she just wanted to run, but where would she go? She didn't want to be anyone else's problem. She could take care of herself, just like she took care of her father for the past two years, but right now she felt like the world crashed down on her. She put her boots back on and grabbed her coat and left the apartment as quietly as she came. Her father must have been asleep or maybe he was drunk and passed out, at this moment she didn't care she just needed to leave. She finds herself walking through town again not really knowing where she was headed. She feels broken inside and she can't fix it just like she couldn't fix her dad. She tried so hard to do everything she could to make her father's life easier, but in return, it made her life a living hell. She just wanted to escape it all now, but how? What would let her escape this horrible town, this life she was stuck in? She didn't know or she didn't want to know either way the option was hers to find.

She stops right before getting to the Snack Falcon and looks around. This town was so small, too small. She looks up at the building she stopped beside. It was one of the tallest in town, you could probably see the highway from up there. She saw a fire escape on the side and a thought crossed her mind, an escape. It shook her down to her core to think it, but she couldn't shake it. It dogged her until she found herself walking down the side alley and climbing up on a bin to grab the escapes ladder. It was rusty and made a grating noise as it slid down, but it held her weight and so she climbed it. The entire metal structure was groaning under her, but at that moment she paid it no mind. She reached the top to find the ladder leading up was broken and had fallen off a long time ago so she tried the window and it slid open. She found herself standing in a large room that had empty rows of benches and a large stage. It was dark and gave off an air of sadness and time passing into oblivion. It added more fuel to her current emotions and she looked around in the darkness until she found the door leading to the stairs and opened it finding a roof access. She walked up the stairs and pushed the door open stepping out onto the roof.

The wind was blowing softly up here and it carried the snow with it. She looked around, the roof was small and covered in a few feet of snow. She shoved her way through it and to the ledge. Why was she here? Not just on the roof, but why was she born into this world. She asked herself that every time she thought about her mother. What was the point of it all? She thought it had a point back when she was planning to go to college, to move further on into life. Maybe find someone special, settle down, start a family, and make the world better for whatever kids she had. No, that wasn't true anymore, now she was trying to make life easier for a father who didn't care enough to try to fix himself. Now, she was running a store she didn't even own with workers who hardly even cared to be ordered around by her. She had nothing and was nothing, at least to herself she was. No, she knew why she was here on this roof tonight. She knew in the darkest part of her mind why she had chosen to climb up here. It was a quiet voice in the back of her head the told her the truth. "You? You mean nothing to this world. Your father stopped caring about you when your mother died. Your friends will move on and forget you even exist. This is the only way. I mean look at how you were treated today when you do all the work and you still get thrown to the ground. This is all you'll ever amount to. So just do it." She didn't even realize she climbed up on the ledge until she was looking down at the snow-covered ground below. It didn't faze her though it just enticed her in a sick way. She closed her eyes, maybe this was the way...maybe this was her way to a better day.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch5 Fractured Reality

 **Welcome to the second to last chapter of the story. This is the answer to the cliffhanger. I just want to say that I hope you enjoy this story so far and I hope this chapter doesn't make you hate it. Also if you ever know of anyone who is going through something like this or anything revolving around suicide get them help. Fight for their life even if they won't fight for it themselves. Anyway, without further ado here is Ch 5 of MaeBea. Chaio.**

 _Our darkest moments are filled with fright, but sometimes that fear is what keeps us alive._

The snow blinded her as she stood there staring out from her perch on the ledge, she felt light and she closed her eyes. She felt the warmth of the sun on her face suddenly, she opened her eyes again and found she was laying on something soft, familiar. It took her a moment to realize what, but when she did she shot up sitting there. It was her old room, her old house, her uniform for the scouts was sitting folded on her dresser in the corner, there was a picture in a frame of her and Mae, but...they looked so young. She had a passing thought and popped out of bed, if this was indeed her old home there should be a mirror in her room. She opened the closet and a large full body mirror was on the other side, and she saw herself. She was thirteen again, wearing a big black shirt she always wore to bed and shorts. She stared, unblinking, for a minute until she heard her mother call her name.

Her mind raced as she made her way down the stairs, not bothering to change, and into the kitchen where she was greeted by the smell of pancakes. Her mother was standing wither her back to the door over the stove as she hummed and cooked. She looked over her shoulder and smiled when she saw Bea standing there. "Good morning sleepy head," she said. Bea stood there for a second and then ran and hugged her mother and started crying. Her mother didn't act surprised but pulled Bea away and then turned to face her. "I know," she says "I'm happy to see you."

Bea stood there sniffling and through a lump in her throat she spoke: "W-Whats going on, Mom?"

Her mother's eyes were soft and sympathetic. She put her hand on Bea's shoulder "I don't have much time honey, this is... like a dream." she was straight forward with that statement "I know it's been a long time and that life isn't what you thought it would be, but I have never left your side."

"This...it isn't real...am I dead?" Bea was so confused she could hardly think.

Bea's mother smiled "No, you're perfectly fine," she said "there is so much in this world that you can't understand dear. It is so vast and magical there is too much to explain. Even when you die it doesn't end there, but right now you have to live." She was crying by now too "I wanted to tell you this while I can, when there was still time, but it's hard to do that and even now time is almost up."

"I still don't understand," Bea's mind was going a mile a minute trying to comprehend what was going on "I don't know what to do or how to keep going."

Her mother pulled her into a hug "there is always someone there to help," she said "I was that someone when you were young, but now I'm gone that someone is different, you just have to be patient." She let go of Bea and stood up again wiping her eyes "Now, before you have to go let's eat these pancakes ok?"

Bea stood there for a moment, her mind reeling with different emotions, but she nodded "that sounds nice," she says and sits down at the table as her mother brings the stack of pancakes over. The enjoy the meal in silence and once the food was gone Bea stood up. Having time to think she came to a conclusion "is this real?" she asks her mother who was still sitting at the table.

"That depends...do you want it to be real?" her voice is calm and soothing.

Bea looks out the window and sees the backyard and the blue sky, she sees birds swoop down and the clouds drifting through the sky. "Yes."

Her mother stands up and puts a hand on her shoulder again "Then it is as real as you want it to be," she pauses "I think your friend is calling your name out front."

"Friend?" Bea listens and hears a voice as if it was distant and echoing "Mae?"

"It's time for you to go hon," her mother was smiling and Bea returned it. Silently Bea turned around and the world was spinning and she felt like a feather again.

"Bea!" Mae voice cut through the darkness and Bea opened her eyes and there she was standing on the ledge again. She looked over her shoulder to see Mae standing behind her panting and almost doubled over. "B-Bea what are you doing?!"

"Mae, why are you here?" Bea's mind was clouded from something. Did she just fall asleep standing there? What had happened, she could hardly remember anything until she heard Mae shout her name.

Mae took a deep breath and stood up straight "I fell asleep or something and...I don't know how to explain it, but whatever happened I knew you were in trouble so I came to find you."

"I...I'm sorry Mae," Bea said looking away and at the ground again and felt a sudden fear of falling, but she refused to move "I don't know how to keep going like this anymore."

Mae took a step forward "that is so selfish of you Bea," she yelled at her "how could you do something like this and not think about everyone else. What would the guy cleaning your body off the ground think? What would your friends think? What would your father think?" She was trying not to cry as she said all of that.

Bea went stiff "I don't care what my father thinks or what anyone else thinks ok," she says "I just want to get out of this godforsaken town." She doesn't expect it, but Mae hops up beside her and grabs her hand.

"Fine, then I'm coming with you." she says

Bea wants to pull her hand away, but when she looks in Mae's eyes she sees just how serious she's being and she loses her nerve and looks away. She takes a step back and Mae lets her hand go. She falls to her knees and then sits down with her back to the ledge and her knees pulled up to her chest. Mae takes a seat beside her and they sit there in silence for a little while. Bea breaks it first "I'm sorry, Mae."

Mae doesn't respond immediately while she tries to think of what to say. "Bea, you remember that night when I told you about what happened after the incident at the softball game?" Bea nods "I didn't know what was wrong and I was so angry at everything. I was angry at everyone for no reason and I just lashed out. I lashed out at you and at my parents and everyone. We fell out of touch, you and me, but that's not what I wanted. Even after I came back to school you had moved on and I felt abandoned until Gregg and I became friends. Then after school was over and I went off to college you were left behind, forgotten, while I was living a dream you wanted."

"Mae where are you going with this," Bea asked.

"Gimme a sec I'm trying to explain," Mae said "when I ran home from college I was hoping to find a few people who were still here, but in the back of my mind I was hoping you'd be here. Except I thought you were long gone living life like you wanted. When I saw you that one day I was so surprised I didn't know what to say or do. I was happy in a sense, but confused in another."

"Mae, I'm failing to see the point in all of this," Bea says looking up at the sky "so, my life fell apart and I was still here. When you came back I didn't feel angry at you or happy I just felt sad. I wanted what you had, but now I can see why you ran away from it, but Mae why are you explaining all this to me? What's the point here?"

"Remember when I told my most embarrassing story to those weird teens?"

"Yeah what about it?"

"Well on that topic I suck at explaining my feelings," Mae looked away "Bea, since I've been back I remembered how great of friends we were. You were the smart one and I was the crazy one, and yeah we were friends by proximity, but we took that and ran with it. Since I've been back and we reconnected I felt a feeling that I couldn't explain, but I think I know what it is now." She turns back to face Bea and their eyes meet for a moment "I want to be there with you forever, Bea, when it feels impossibly hard to continue on. I want to help you through it all. I..." she goes quiet and looks at the ground "I love you, Bea."

Bea feels a lump in her throat and looks away instantly and tries to swallow it before speaking, but she doesn't know how to respond. She has never questioned herself before, but she always knew she would fall in love with a guy and maybe raise a family. She never saw herself as Gay or Bi, but she couldn't deny that Mae had made an impression on her. Just an impression that she never thought she would bring into question before. When the lump decided it would let her speak again and went away she took a deep breath and responded. "I...I don't really know how to respond to that, Mae."

Mae began to laugh "I know it's a crazy thing to say. I mean you're not even into girls..."

"I'll think about it," Bea cut through her response and Mae shut up really quickly, "Just give me time to think, ok?"

Mae smiled and nodded "That's more than what I could ask for."

Bea smiled back "thank you for running out here and finding me Mae," she says "I'm sorry you had to see me like that and that I would try something that stupid in the first place."

"You just need help Bea," Mae said and stood up "let's get you home and tomorrow we can figure out something." She held her hand out and Bea took it and she was hoisted up. Bea didn't think twice as she pulled Mae into a quick hug and the friends made their way out of the building through several broken doors and a splintered baseball bat.

...

Mae walked Bea to her apartment and into the lobby where they said their good nights and then went their separate ways. Bea walked into a dark apartment, but she didn't find it foreboding or angering to be there and she pulled her coat and boots off and went to bed. Mae walked into the house where her father was still sitting on the couch and he was worried about her, but she explained that she just felt she needed to get up and run outside for no reason what so ever, and he didn't question it further. She too went to bed, exhausted from the night's events. She left a message for Bea on the messenger app.

"Hope you feel better in the morning,"~Mae.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch6 The End of The Beginning**

 **Welcome back to MaeBea I am literally, figuratively, a pile of garbage for not working on this for as along as I did so here it is. The ending pulled fresh from my mind for you all. Have a wonderful life and please Read and Review Sincerely me. Chaio.**

 _When we come to the end of the story we start a new one._

Morning rose quietly with the muted sounds caused by fresh snow bringing Bea out of her slumber. For the first time in the last few years, she actually got a good nights sleep. It took her a moment to realize that her alarm clock read 11:00. She flew out of bed still fully dressed from the night prior and all she had to do was quickly throw her shoes on. Grabbing her coat she ran out the front door and skipped the elevator opting to take the stairs. Descending several of them at once she found herself in the lobby. She threw the front doors open and booked it up the street she was late. She slid to a stop in front of the Ol'Pickax and took a few deep breaths before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the keys, but before she slid it into the lock the door opened and her father was standing there. She froze up not saying anything.

Mr. Santello smiled at her "Come on in it's freezing out here," he said stepping to the side and she walked in "did you sleep well?"

"I, uh, y-yeah I did," she replies "why didn't you wake me up?"

Her father lets the door swing closed "Come back to the office we can talk there, please." He looked at her with a sincere look in his eyes and she nodded and he led the way to the back office. She takes a seat on one of the chairs and her father closes the door before turning and clearing his throat. "I...I have not right to ask for any form of forgiveness for how I've acted and treated you these past few years. I just haven't been quite there since your mother passed away she meant a lot to both of us." He looks away "I had a dream last night of your mother." He chuckles softly "She was chastising me for being a big idiot," He looks back at Bea "I promise you I won't tune out again ok? I promise that I won't just leave you to pick up my responsibility, and I am so sorry for everything I've done." Tears were in his eyes and he stood there silent.

Bea stood up and she walked up to him and hugged him tightly "I forgive you, Dad," she says trying not to cry as well. Her father quickly returns the hug and they stand there for a few minutes before letting each other go.

The bell over the front door rings they hear and a voice call out "Bea? Ya back there?"

She smiled "That's Mae," she opens the office door and walks out to see her friend standing out in front of the counter. She smiles and Mae smiles back "Hey Mae what's up?" Her father walks out of the office behind her.

"I slept in late today, but when I woke up I rushed right over here," The cat explains "just wanted to see if I could help out."

Mr. Santello steps out of the back "Hello Mae," he says "well since you and Bea are here you could help her there's a small job in Towny Centre at one of the apartments. The call buttons are on the fritz and they finally called the shop today to get someone out there to fix it. Bea knows how to wire up things, but I'm pretty sure she could use the help. Don't worry about getting it done too fast it'll be ok I'm gonna run the store today." He pats Bea on the back and smiles.

"Uh yeah sure I can fix it up I'll just go grab a tool bag and some stuff. Mae, come back here and help me please." Bea says as she slips into the back store room again with Mae hopping over the counter and following her.

"Your dad seems..." Mae says pausing a second to think "happy?"

"Something seems different with him," Bea says smiling "a good change if you ask me."

"Yeah, he's acting like I remember before your mom...oh, sorry."

"No, it's ok, you're right though," Bea replies as she reaches up and pulls a tool bag off a shelf and then walks up to a large box and roots around in it and pulls out a length of different colored wires. "Here hold this I need to grab one more thing." She sets the tool bag down and goes down one of the long rows of shelves and stops pulling something out of another box. She walks back up to Mae "found it."

"What is it?"

Bea holds the device up, it looks like a small rectangular box with a digital display with two wires plugged into it. "It's a voltage tester," she says, "it tells us how much electricity is going through the wires. So we don't get shocked."

Mae sighs "wish I had that then I wouldn't have gotten shocked that one time I went to see Angus when I first got back. Anyway, let's go I'm getting bored just standing around."

The two friends take the stuff and head out. Along the way, Bea gets the details for the job and surprisingly they find themselves at Greg and Angus' apartment building. Bea finds the owner of the building waiting in the lobby and she shows them the problems and complaints and that it's the third time she had it fixed, but "that damn boy keeps breaking it please just fix it." Bea nods and they get to work. It was very simple and Mae enjoyed watching Bea work. She was flawless as she stripped the wires and cut the old ones out and replaced all the electrical before putting the faceplate back on an hour later with the new and improved wiring.

"Wow you work fast," Mae says amazed "I don't know how you do it."

"That's an easy one to answer," Bea says as she begins to pack up "I wanted to go to school for engineering."

"Mae? Bea?" a rather excited voice calls out. The two of them turn to see Greg stepping out of the elevator with Angus "are you fixing the call button?"

"Yeah," Bea says standing up "now don't break it again."

"He get's excited sometimes," Angus says "I'll keep an eye on it."

"Yo, do you guys wanna hit up the Clik Clak with us?" Greg asks.

Bea zips up the tool bag "Yeah, I need to take these tools back to the store, but I can meet up with you."

"I'll come with you, Bea," Mae says "We'll see you and Angus at the Clik Clak." The friends split up heading off in different directions. "Today's been weird hasn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's a good kind of weird," Bea says with a small chuckle "I felt like the world was coming to an end after that run in with the murder cult. Now, I feel that they were wrong, or maybe they were right about everything, but I know, they were wrong about how much it will affect us though. We won't be here when this town dies. It was always going to happen, it's inevitable. We are born to move on not wallow in the same place our parents are. I just lost my way when I couldn't move on, but now I can."

"Yeah you're right about that," Mae gives a small nervous chuckle.

Bea noticed it, and also knew why Mae would be a little nervous. She didn't know what to say, she hadn't thought about it long enough yet, so she remained quiet. The trip to the store to drop everything off and back to the Clik Clak was quiet. Once they reached the small diner the four friends were back together. It was a beautiful day especially when the snow began to fall while they sat in the diner. Life seemed happier that day, for all of them a cloud of despair that had covered the town that Fall, and now it had lifted in the Winter to show that even when it all comes crumbling down you can always enjoy the beauty. They all split up afterward Greg and Angus heading off to their apartment while Mae and Bea hung back choosing to take the subway tunnel to get back home.

A fair bit of snow blew into the tunnel coating it in a generous layer of white. The water had iced over, but on the other side the poetic fisherman had cut a hole in it and was still trying to catch a fish. "What are you going to do with the rest of your day?" Mae asks quietly.

"Well, dad wasn't expecting me back at the store so I don't know. It's been a while since I've been free to choose."

"We should plan something so we can hang out and do it," Mae suggested, "like going back to the mall or maybe see if Jackie has a party planned."

"Or maybe just hang out and watch a movie." Bea looked down at her friend

"Hell yeah I know the perfect one," Mae pumped a fist into the air "My place or yours?"

"Yours," Bea said and they walked along out of the tunnel and onward back into the daylight. The two of them side by side walking into the great unknown, but enough adventures for now. There are more stories to tell and many more adventures to see.

 **Have a wonderful life**

 **The End**


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue: New Year, New Love**

 **So it ends, for now, I really don't want to let it just stop here, but I need to sort my life out before embarking on another epic adventure like this turned out to be. I also have other unfinished FanFics to work on. So, thank you for sticking with me for this long and please have a wonderful life and never forget that it will always be worth waking up even if it is to another crappy day of living. Sincerely Silverstream5683. Chaio.**

 ** _It's on nights like these, special nights, that true love blossoms and a special night it was._**

It was cold that night, almost below freezing. The woods were beautiful and covered with an unbroken sheen of white snow. It practically glowed under the light of the full moon. Deep in the woods in a clearing that no one would find, unless one followed the foot prints in the snow, sat two people that were the most unlikely of couples. One, brash and unrestrained, the other, calm and thoughtful. Both were sitting there side by side looking up at the clear night sky. The stars blazed in silence casting a beautiful set of twinkling lights across the black sky. It was mesmerizing. Neither of them spoke as they sat and enjoyed the silence.

Mae was wearing a heavy coat her mother let her borrow since she was going to be out late. Still, she was shivering her teeth rattling. She had her hands on her side and didn't notice the simple movement Bea made as she grabbed her hand. She felt the warmth though. It grew from her hand and up her arm warming her entire body, or so it seemed. She was nervous still, how long had it been since she confessed herself to her friend. Two weeks was the correct answer. Yet still, she felt like it was a dream. That this was not real, that it was just Shapes. No, it wasn't, Bea was right there she had been there the entire time. Mae knew that to be fact. She glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye. When they talked that night on the roof and Mae divulged her deepest feelings Bea was dumbfounded. She didn't know that was how her friend felt about her. Mae talked her down off that roof that night. Something evil was eating at her, but when they were done talking Bea simply told her to give her time to think. Tonight was when Mae would get her answer. Tonight was New Year's Eve, an hour before midnight in fact. So, Mae sat there now holding Bea's hand and she waited.

...

She felt Mae shivering and heard her teeth chattering. She was cold so Bea just grabbed her hand. It was a small gesture, but Mae instantly stopped shivering. Mae had been there for the past couple of weeks helping her and her father, who was now opening and closing the store, do simple jobs. She was a friend Bea was sad she had lost at one point, but now she was back. She was kind and very caring, if not a little rough around the edges, but she was there when Bea thought no one else was. That night, on the roof, Bea was done with her life. She just wanted to see her mother again, where ever she was. She didn't want to live with the dead end job and the life she had going for her. Jumping was her only option, or so she thought. She had heard a voice call out her name and for a moment it sounded like her mother. It wasn't though, it was Mae. When she saw her friend standing there gasping for air and telling her not to do it through each breath she broke a little. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't, and when Mae jumped up on the ledge threatening to jump with her what little will she had left crumbling forcing her down off that ledge. Their talk had opened her eyes to things she never knew about Mae. It gave her a feeling she didn't think she could have for her friend. Love, not the kind of love one has for a sibling or parent, but the kind of love that you share with someone special. She never thought of herself that way before. Could she love Mae, a female like her? It was weird for her to think that, but over the past two weeks she's done nothing, but think about it. She had made her decision now she was waiting for the perfect time to share it.

...

The watch Mae had on reads 11:50 PM the new year was upon them, but Bea still hadn't said a word since they got there. Mae was getting anxious, was she going to laugh and say what a joke it was? No, no she wouldn't do that she'd be kind about it.

Bea finally stirred "Mae," she said softly

Mae's ears perked up "Yes?" she said her voice going an octave higher than normal. She gave a nervous chuckle.

Bea let out a small laugh too "I've been thinking, you know, about what you said." Mae's heart started skipping beats, this was it. Bea turned to look at her and she stared right back into the croc's eyes. Bea had a softness in her eyes at that moment like when she was genuinely happy about something and Mae could almost feel her spirits soar. "I want to..." she takes a deep breath "I want to give it a try." Her gaze averts and she blushed. Mae wasted no time and pushed her head forward and kissed Bea causing the croc to jump at the suddenness. It was unrefined and sloppy, but Mae remembered her first kiss and where it went wrong and she had been practicing for this. Bea didn't pull away either as she felt the wave of emotion pour through her from their connection. It was intense and satisfying at the same time. They were both putting their energy into it and it seemed that time stood still. When they finally broke contact they were panting slightly. It felt like the world just warmed a thousand degrees. "W-Wow, that was...intense," Bea said taking a deep breath to regain her composure. Mae nodded in agreement and they sat there enjoying the silence once more. The New Year was here and a new bond was formed between the two of them. The only thing that mattered now was moving forward in their lives and finding a purpose together.


End file.
